1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to air data probes and more particularly to air data probes for aerospace applications.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of air data probe devices are known in the art for aircraft flight control. Of such devices, many are directed to measuring Pitot pressure, static pressure, local angle of attack pressures, and angle of sideslip pressures as parameters for calculating pressure altitude, altitude rate, airspeed, Mach number, angle of attack, and angle of sideslip. The air data probe typically includes one or more static pressure ports located on the side of the probe head integral to the probe's surface which sense the atmospheric pressure outside of the aircraft. When these static pressure ports take consistent pressure measurements, they can provide accurate and consistent calculations of the above mentioned parameters.
During periods where an air data probe is at a high altitude, angle of attack, and/or Mach number, it is possible for the air data probe to have inconsistent measurement errors in the aft static ports. There can be considerable variations from one probe to another, suggesting there is a sensitivity to an unknown manufacturing variable at the conditions described above.
Such conventional methods and systems generally have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there remains an ever present need to advance the state of the art by reducing data inconsistencies in air data probes at high altitude, Mach, and/or angle of attack. There also remains a need in the art for such methods and systems that are easy to make and use. The present invention provides a solution for these problems.